Reality

HOPE
It's 6pm and I come home....I see her sitting with my mom talking....laughing...sharing a few stories...they've been out during the day and are planning for another day. I see happiness around me....I see a family. We all sit together and have a chat over tea....discuss people, things, anything and everything. She is there as a daughter to my mother not a daughter in law....she makes her feel happy and wants her to relax after 20 years of raising a son on her own. We have dinner together...all 3 of us....and then the 2 of us maybe go out for coffee....Life is beautiful.

REALITY

It's 8.30pm and I come home after coming up with things to keep myself busy till late. She isn't home yet...out with friends / colleagues.....I sit with my mom who has had a tough day and is exhausted....we have tea. She walks in....upset with me for not having called and asked her if she wanted something. She screams at us both about one thing or another....grabs her dinner from the kitchen and eats in the room. My mother has tears in her eyes....she worries about how things will go on when it's only been a year and things are so bad....she apologises to me like she does everyday...I hug her. I go into my room after taking a concoction of tranquilizers and nerv relaxants....enough to drown out her screams at me. I pass out soon....off to a better world in my dreams.....waiting for the next day to start......Life is a nightmare.